Cello

First-time writer/director Woo-cheol Lee’s “Cello” is a creepy little gem working from the assumption that we create our own ghosts.

Hyeon-a Seong stars as Hong Mi-ju, a brilliant cellist who is haunted by the spirit of a woman she knew as a student, a cellist who was never as good and was killed in a car accident. When Mi-ju’s life becomes complicated by a student she is teaching who blames Mi-ju for her own lack of success, the ghost begins to take control.

There’s a lot more to this tale of ascending terror than that. It’s beautifully shot, as are so many of the horror films from South Korea that Tartan Video has presented as part of its Asia Extreme series. Unlike American horror films of late, this one sticks to you. The past may not be a foreign country, but it certainly is a haunted cemetery.

Highly recommended for fans of Asian horror, and anyone who likes a scary story well told.